Warrant & Fugitive Division
A warrant is a court order signed by a judge to take a subject into custody. They can be issued for both criminal and civil issues such as child support or an unpaid bill. They can also be issued for not appearing in court. By state statue the Sheriff’s department is responsible for all court orders issued from the courts. Any police officer whether county, city or state may make an arrest on a warrant.
The Warrant & Fugitive Division of the County Police was established as a separate division in January 2003. Prior to that time the Warrant Division was responsible for transporting inmates from the county jail to the courthouse and back, and serving warrants.
Today the Warrant Division goes out and actively serves warrants only. The Transportation Division now transports the inmates to court. In January 2003 the total amount of active warrants was over 7,000. We now have just over 4,000 active warrants. We currently have four 2-man teams that actively go out and serve warrants. We also actively work with the South Bend and Mishawaka Police Departments to capture these individuals wanted on warrants. We receive approximately 800 to 1000 new warrants a month.
We depend on the public to help us apprehend people on warrants. Many of those wanted are desperate and go into hiding to avoid capture. We work with Crime stoppers and Channel 16 Fugitive Watch to get leads on these wanted persons. If you know the location of someone wanted you may call the Warrant Office M-F 0800-1630 hrs at 574-235-9756 or 574-235-9611 anytime to report the whereabouts of a wanted person.
Warrant & Fugitive Division
Captain Al Metcalf-Division Commander
St. Joseph County Police Department
401 W. Sample St.
South Bend, In 46601
Phone (574) 235-9756 Fax (574) 235-9854